Committee approves Downtown Seattle digital kiosk program after amendment directing city revenue

The Seattle City Council Governance, Accountability and Economic Development Committee voted 4-0 on June 12 to recommend passage of Council Bill 120992, an ordinance authorizing the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) to install interactive digital kiosks in the public right-of-way under a programmatic term permit and a city-DSA memorandum of understanding.

The ordinance authorizes a programmatic term permit for DSA and its vendor, Ike Smart City, to place up to 80 kiosks in two phases (30 in phase 1, a potential 50 in phase 2), establishes technical and siting standards, and sets reporting, maintenance and revenue-sharing requirements. Committee members adopted Amendment 1, moved by Councilmember Amelia Hollingsworth, to specify that excess city revenues from the kiosks be used for citywide business activation and business districts; the amendment and the bill were adopted by roll call, 4-0.

Supporters said the kiosks will provide multilingual wayfinding, free public Wi-Fi, safety features and a revenue stream for…